The New Orleans Saints salvaged their season opener to defeat the Atlanta Falcons through impeccable fourth-quarter play. Otherwise, it wasn’t pretty. Taysom Hill, plainly, was the entire offense through three quarters. He ran in 2 of the team’s 4 total first downs in the first half. New Orleans converted a mere 3 of 11 third down attempts prior to the fourth quarter.
Then Jameis Winston briefly entered the injury tent and proceeded to play the best quarter of his career. He amassed 75 passing yards in his first scoring drive. The offense converted 10 passing first downs in the final quarter alone. Winston brought poise under center that had felt absent since Drew Brees retired – doing so with zero turnovers. That calm command was matched in the kicking game with Wil Lutz’s return. After missing a 44-yard attempt early on Sunday afternoon, Lutz recorded a 49-yarder in the third quarter and sealed the victory with 19 seconds left on a 51-yard field goal. The Saints found a way to win, but it wasn’t pretty. Let’s take a deeper look after reviewing the tape:
There are still questions for the Saints offense, pass protection glaringly so, but the biggest change from last year is the surety in weapons to stay mentally tough through adverse periods of play. Especially when it’s happening on both sides of the ball. In contrast to Matt Ryan, Marcus Mariota brought the mobile quarterback conundrum to the forefront against the Saints defense. New Orleans didn’t have tape on Mariota, nor did they have to prepare for the zone read offense for 14 seasons. But he’s not the first dual threat they’ve had to chase around, nor will it be the last this season.
Previously known for never allowing 100-yard rushers, the defense had no answer for Cordarrelle Patterson and the additional wrinkles brought by Mariota. The pass rush remains a concern. New Orleans won’t win many games allowing 416 net yards. Still, standout performances in coverage and run defense deserve credit. Let’s dive into how the other levels of the defense fared.
While New Orleans allowed 20 catches for 215 yards, with 13 passing first downs, they didn’t let any go for touchdowns. It’s not too fair to harp on the secondary with the amount of time Mariota had in the pocket. One that looks different in nearly every facet from last season.
Paulson Adebo’s absence gave Bradley Roby the start opposite…
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